Page 209 of Seeds of Malice

"Yeah, you did," I claim, storming through the restaurant.

She follows and grabs my arm when I step outside. "Ivy, wait."

I spin, fighting my buzz. "What?"

"I-I'm sorry. I-I really value our friendship. I'm sorry I misread things."

I stare at her.

"I am," she softly states.

I release a breath and nod. "Okay."

She cautiously smiles. "So we can still be friends?"

I stay quiet.

She grabs my hand. "Please. I promise I won't ever mistake our friendship for anything else again. It means too much to me."

I relax and firmly reply, "Of course we can be friends. But that's it, Avery. No more, understand?"

"Yes," she agrees, but I can't shake the feeling something is off.

33

Dax

"Ivy, where are you?" I shout, storming into Ivy's house. I'm tired of her ignoring me. It's been over twenty-four hours, and she's not returning or answering my calls or texts.

I glance around the empty space.

Where is she?

I pace their tiny living room, then stop in front of the window, staring into the blackness. No matter what I've done to contact her, she won't respond to me, and it's driving me nuts.

I text her again.

Me: Where are you, baby girl? We need to talk.

She doesn't reply, and my anger surges.

Where is she? I have to work things out with her. Even if I have to come clean about things I've done, I will. I can't lose her.

And this game is over. Ivy's unknowingly won.

Bobby and Avery can go fuck themselves.

Ivy's stolen every piece of me. Anything that mattered in the past no longer does.

I pace faster, tugging at my hair, listening to the clock tick. I finally sit on the sofa, tapping my hands on the armrest, continuing to wonder where Ivy's gone. I glance around and freeze.

A worn, tattered, leather-bound notebook sits on the table.

I mutter, "What is this?" I pick it up and open it.

A man's handwriting fills it. The front page reads, Property of John Ford.

Every page has a date. It goes back twenty years. At first, it seems like nothing but a bunch of formulas, but then I realize it's more than nothing.

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